The Lightning Mule Brigade: Abel Streight*s 1863 Raid into Alabama

To pit the legendary Confederate cavalry leader Nathan Bedford Forrest and his veteran cavalry regiments against a rookie Union Infantry colonel and his four infantry regiments mounted on mules might seem laughable, but it turned out to be anything but. The Union Raid began with a 300 mile boat trip, then began its move toward Georgia from the Mississippi/Alabama border. Its goal was to disrupt the rail line supplying Confederate troops in Tennessee. In a textbook tactical campaign, Streight held off the veteran Forrest until exhaustion, bad luck, and poor equipment did him in. This book tells the details.